The event had been intended to promote the upcoming film Penguins of Madgascar – but Sherlockmania took over.
DreamWorks Animation opened the biggest presentation at Comic Con on Thursday, offering a sneak peak at the upcoming film Penguins of Madagascar. Yet despite some very funny scenes that parodied Werner Herzog and a panel that included popular Comic Con veteran Craig Ferguson and Oscar-winning actor John Malkovich, it was Sherlock's Benedict Cumberbatch, who makes his voice acting debut in Penguins as a Wolf named Agent Classified, who dominated the event.
Members of the audience had been lining up since 6 am to get into Hall H, the most desirable exhibitor hall at San Diego's Comic Con with a capacity of 6,500, and a significant number of those who had arrived dressed in Sherlock costume, despite this being a presentation that had nothing to do with the show whatsoever.
This was the first sign that Sherlockmania had taken hold. As the panel began, Craig Ferguson, the moderator, threatened, "If anyone mentions the S word, Comic Con will be cancelled."
Benedict Cumberbatch certainly knows how to work an audience as well. While the mass of Sherlockians are screaming and cheering, Benedict dances across the stage to Daft Punk's 'Doin it Right'.
The panel's Q&A became a one-man show. Six of the eight questions in the Q&A portion of the Penguins of Madagascar panel were directed at Cumberbatch, who politely batted a few over to Malkovich.
One audience member mentioned that she was studying media in the UK, and Cumberbatch was happy to engage in a conversation. "How's it going?" he asked. On finding out she studied at Queen Mary University in Twickenham, Cumberbatch said, "Lovely part of the world, we film Sherlock near there, you know."
When asked how he prepared for his role, Cumberbatch responded with an answer that took down the house.
"I worked in Yellowstone park as a wolf for awhile. I was accepted by the pack quite quickly. It got a bit hairy, no pun intended, when I became the alpha male. Eventually I realized that two of the other wolves were Christian Bale and Daniel Day-Lewis."
What has been your favorite news from Comic Con this year so far? Why not let us know in the comments section.
0 comments: